1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to animal repellent horns and lights.
2. Description of the Prior Art
While there are prior inventions that use sound waves that are too high and/or too low in frequency for humans to hear to repel animals, none are equivalent to the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,922,999, issued on Jan. 26, 1960, to Benson Carlin, discloses the use of directed ultrasonic radiation for the dispersion of noxious fauna, but does not use canisters of compressed gas as in the instant invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,277,861, issued on Oct. 11, 1966, to Lowell A. Moe, discloses a method and apparatus for repelling rodent and other undesirable animals using ultrasonic sound waves, but does not use canisters of compressed gas as in the instant invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,412,394, issued on Nov. 19, 1968, to Robert M. Lewis and Julius C. Strasbourger, discloses a photocell controlled pest, bird and animal chaser, using gas explosions not required by the instant invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,670,690, issued on Jun. 20, 1972, to Robert E. Swanson, discloses an aerosol operated horn, but does not disclose the use of the horn to produce ultrasonic and/or infrasonic waves, as in the instant invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,757,731, issued on Sep. 11, 1973, to Michael Pappas, Paul A. Witte and Thomas Johnson, discloses gas power operated hand held acoustic devices, but does not disclose their use to produce ultrasonic and/or infrasonic waves, as in the instant invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,831,548, issued on Aug. 27, 1974, to Arthur J. Droege, discloses a pest control device that produces ultrasonic vibrations to drive away pests. Unlike the instant invention, it uses an air compressor, rather than a canister of compressed air.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,872,472, issued on Mar. 18, 1975, to Robert G. Moschgat, discloses an ultrasonic system for repelling noxious fauna, but does not disclose the use of canisters containing compressed gas, as in the instant invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,178,578, issued on Dec. 11, 1979, to Lester B. Hall, discloses a pest control apparatus using ultrasound, but without storage of compressed air or gas, as in the instant invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,227,482, issued on Oct. 14, 1980, to Christian T. Scheindel, discloses a pressurized fluid-actuated sound-producing device, but does not disclose its use to produce ultrasonic and/or infrasonic waves, as in the instant invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,284,845, issued on Aug. 18, 1981, to Claude A. Belcher, discloses a device for freeing an area of birds, insects, or other pests, which simultaneously emits two separate audio frequencies that are shifted periodically. It does not disclose the use of compressed gas canisters, as in the instant invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,658,386, issued on Apr. 14, 1987, to Kenneth L. Morris, discloses an ultrasonic sound wave generator on a refuse container for repelling animals.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,669,424, issued on Jun. 2, 1987, to Frank J. Bianco and Oscar Jimenez, discloses an ultrasound generator that may be worn on an animal's collar for repelling pests such as fleas and ticks.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,736,907, issued on Apr. 12, 1988, to Rudiger Steffen, discloses preventing the collision of birds with aircraft by means of at least one light source installed on an aircraft which produces light flashes. The use of ultrasonic and/or infrasonic sound waves, as in the instant invention, is not disclosed.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,890,580, issued on Jan. 2, 1990, to Charles W. Owen and Roberto A. Garcia, discloses an electronic flea-repelling device, including an integrated circuit, but not including a compressed gas canister as in the instant invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,999,818, issued on Mar. 12, 1991, to Patrick F. Malleolo, discloses another ultrasonic repeller of pests and vermin.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,022,790, issued on Jun. 11, 1991, to Robert A. Stevenson, discloses an audible signaling system for divers, with a horn powered by compressed air (as from a scuba tank) but does not disclose the use of the horn to produce ultrasonic and/or infrasonic sound waves as in the instant invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,214,411, issued on May 25, 1993, to Steven L. Herbruck, discloses an ultrasonic animal repelling apparatus to keep animals such as dogs and cats out of locations such as yards.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,355,830, issued on Oct. 18, 1994, to Michael deJong, discloses a rechargeable air horn, but does not disclose the use of the horn to produce ultrasonic and/or infrasonic sound waves as in the instant invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,602,523, issued on Feb. 11, 1997, to James Turchioe and Thomas Turchioe, discloses a deer repellent system, which has a piezo-electric driver utilizing a horn type device that produces harmonic distortion, but does not disclose the use of the device to produce ultrasonic and/or infrasonic sound waves as in the instant invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,969,593, issued on Oct. 19, 1999, to George A. Will, discloses a system for moving vehicles using ultrasound to induce animals to move out of the paths of the vehicles.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,016,100, issued on Jan. 18, 2000, to Randal D. Boyd and Walter J. Frankewich, Jr., discloses devices that can be driven into the ground, sense the presence of animals, and produce ultrasound to keep the animals out of an area.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,134,184, issued on Oct. 17, 2000, to Lucy Waletzky and Peter J. Wilk, discloses an apparatus for chasing animals from an automobile, by means that include ultrasonic and infrasonic sound waves, but does not disclose producing the sound waves using a compressed air canister, as in the instant invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,158,385, issued on Dec. 12, 2000, to Randal D. Boyd, discloses a bird feeder that uses electric shocks and/or ultrasonic sound to keep away squirrels.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,250,255, issued on Jun. 26, 2001, to Martin L. Lenhardt and Alfred L. Ochs, discloses methods and apparatus for alerting and/or repelling birds and other animals, including the use of ultrasonic sound waves, but does not disclose producing the waves using canisters as in the instant invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,301,194, issued on Oct. 9, 2001, to Charles J. Cauchy, discloses a self-powered insect and rodent repellent device using ultrasound.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,392,549, issued on May 21, 2002, to Chih Hsien Wu, discloses a portable mosquito repelling/killing device, which, unlike the instant invention, does not disclose the use ultrasonic or infrasonic sound waves produced using compressed gas canisters.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,570,494, issued on May 27, 2003, to Kenneth Charles Leftridge, Sr., discloses an ultrasonic sound generating mosquito guard powered by a solar panel.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,690,265, issued on Feb. 10, 2004, to Jonathan Tryon Hagstrum, discloses an infrasound hazard-warning method and device for alerting night-migrating birds to obstacles, producing sounds that birds can hear that are too low for humans to hear.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,710,705, issued on Mar. 23, 2004, to Blaine M. Smith and Timothy M. Simon, discloses a device that drives pests away using ultrasonic sound and flashes of light.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,796,265, issued on Sep. 28, 2004, to James T. Dexter and David A. Hancock, discloses a pneumatic signaling devices for divers, but does not disclose the use of ultrasonic and/or infrasonic sound waves as in the instant invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,012,506, issued on Mar. 14, 2006, to Christopher T. Rich and Erika L. Kneller, discloses a pest repeller having a pair of ultrasound speakers rotatably mounted on a post.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,227,452, issued on Jun. 5, 2007, to James W. Frost, discloses an ultrasound generating device powered by solar cells to keep birds away.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,274,650, issued on Sep. 25, 2007, to Te-Chin Jan, discloses a device that randomly produces sounds of different frequencies, including ultrasonic, to repel rodents.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,370,600, issued on May 13, 2008, to Louis Tomassetti and Peter Tomassetti, discloses an air horn powered by a compressed air canister, with a light signal, but does not disclose the use of the horn to produce ultrasonic and/or infrasonic sound waves, nor the use of a strobe light, as in the instant invention.
U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2007/0037691, published on Feb. 15, 2007, to Howard Stapleton, discloses a sound-emitting device, which produces high frequency sound waves that most young people can hear, but most old people cannot. It does not disclose the use of a compressed gas canister to produce the sound waves, as in the instant invention.
U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2008/0314334, published on Dec. 25, 2008, to James Dalton, discloses a device and method for controlling animal behavior, and deterring animals from entering a predetermined area, by methods that include noise that is ultrasonic and/or infrasonic, but does not disclose the use of a compressed gas canister to produce the noise.
German Patent No. 199 55 102, issued on Aug. 3, 2000, inventor Günter Waldmann, discloses a device for scaring off animals and insects using sounds and ultrasonics.
Derwent Abstract, 2002-063157, Abstract of DE 20015278 U1, published 10 May 2001, has the title “Small Animal Scanning System for Small Spaces Inaccessible for Human Beings Has Sensor Monitoring Region to be Protected which Transmits Signal to Electronic Unit if Animal Enters”.
None of the patents cited above disclose ultrasonic or infrasonic sound generators powered by compressed air canisters in combination with strobe lights. None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed.